Multipurpose paint saving apparatus

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for reducing liquid waste in a container is provided. The liquid may be paint. The apparatus comprises an elongate rigid metallic body having first and second ends and first and second long edges, with the first end furnished with projections and concavities shaped to mate with the upper rim of a lidded paint can, and the second end being flat and formed with a generally right angle abutment with said first edge, and also abutting with said second edge in a similar manner, and said first and second ends, and said first and second edges further comprising a nonmetallic resilient ridge extending therefrom for sweeping paint from the inside of a ridged paint container.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The invention relates to the field or industrial waste reduction, morespecifically to the reduction in paint waste.

Discarded paint, considered to be the number one household hazardouswaste, poses a threat to our increasingly compromised environment andwater. Municipal and state agencies consistently report that leftoverpaint represents between 40% and 60% (by weight) of all materialcollected at household hazardous waste collection facilities or events.Of all hazardous household products, paint represents the largest costfor local governments to collect and manage, costing over US$300 millionper year (an average collection and management cost of US$8/gallon).

There are numerous manufacturers of paint cans, yet the large majorityof cans are very similar in design, geometry and structure and have notchanged in decades. Several manufactures of paint cans that have addedtwo circumferential ribs to the wall of their cans. This is presumablyto increase the can wall's strength, making the can more resistant tocrushing or other damage. The width of these reinforcing ribs istypically about ⅜″. The ribs protrude into the interior of the can about1/32″, in effect, dividing the inner can wall into three horizontalsegments.

The traditional wooden painting tool is thus unable to clean and wipethe inside wall of a ribbed can because the circumferential ribs make itimpossible for any solid edge to make complete contact with the entirecan wall.

Posing another challenge, containers of paint, of stain, or of otherchemicals or viscous compounds generally have a groove around the rim,which is used for tight sealing of a lid while maintaining paint insidethe can. This groove catches residual liquid from pouring or brushaction. Unless this residue is removed, it dries and may impair thesealing of the can. The entire can of paint may dry out and be renderedunusable. Even if this does not occur, the liquid paint can react withthe lid to oxidize it and to contaminate the remaining paint withundesirable and discoloring oxides.

The purpose of the invention is to prevent these effects, and tominimize paint waste, and provide for a less hazardous waste enteringlandfills, but in a way that is inexpensive and easy to effect.

2. Description of Related Art

Design patent D468977 granted to the applicants on Jan. 21, 2003discloses a simple paint can scraping tool, and is incorporated hereinby reference.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,555,592 issued to Charles Crego discloses a paint-canchannel cleaner and recycler, which can be run around the rim of a canof paint and will, by virtue of its shape, divert the paint in the rimback into the can. This is a rigid tool with a defined curled shape andspecific to the upper rim of a paint can.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,491,868 discloses a container cleaning spatula with arectangular head attached to an elongated handle. No provision is madefor cleaning rims, or underneath the rim, or the opening of paint canlids.

In summary, the prior single and multi-use tools for painters typicallyinclude edges for crudely scraping paint off of surfaces, for scrapingpaint off of paint roller tubes, or for prying cans open with thescraping edge. A tool which more effectively reduces paint waste andmess, and can also act to open paint can lids, is still required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided an apparatusfor reducing liquid waste in a container, the apparatus including:

an elongate, rigid metallic body having first and second ends and firstand second long edges, with the first end having projections andconcavities shaped to mate with the upper rim of a lidded paint can; thesecond end being substantially flat and formed with a generally rightangle abutment with the first and second long edges; and the first andsecond ends, and the first and second long edges, further including anonmetallic resilient ridge extending therefrom.

The liquid may be paint, and the container may be a paint can. The paintcan may be a one gallon or 3.78 litre size, or a quart size.

The nonmetallic resilient ridge may be confined to the region of theapparatus nearest the second end, or it may extend from at least one ofthe first and second long edges. It may extend from at least one of thefirst and second ends.

The first end may have a nonmental resilient projection to reach deepinto the paint can lid groove.

The first long edge may have a metallic hook-shaped projection shaped toextend fittedly under the inner rim of a paint container when the firstlong edge is brought into contact with the inside vertical wall of thepaint container.

The second long edge may have a concavity capable of accommodating apaint brush, the outside of a cylindrical container, or a paint roller,to be used to removing liquid paint from the brush or roller when thebrush or roller is drawn across the concavity, or the concavity is drawnacross the container.

The rigid, metallic body may be composed of steel. It may furtherinclude a protective coating, such as PVC or rubber. A hole or aperturemay be provided to allow the apparatus to be hung on a hook or attachedwith a string or cord.

The invention offers the advantage of being both rigid, and thereforestrong enough to pry open the lids of paint cans, as well as pliablealong the wiping edges, to move liquid paint to common pools where itcan be used for painting, and to assist in providing a clean receivingsurface for lid, so that the seal between the lid and the can may bemade tight, and the contents effectively protected from oxidisation anddrying.

The apparatus of the invention lends itself to wiping the insides ofcans containing materials with a wide range of materials andviscosities. The metal substrate provides sufficient strength to allowfor the manipulation of even very heavy materials, while the resilientpliable edge accommodates various interior shapes and groovedstructures, and reaches into angled corners and vertices.

Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparentto those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the followingdescription of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction withthe accompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In drawings which illustrate embodiments of the invention,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention showingthe resilient ridge and shaped end;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the same embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the same embodiment of the invention;and

FIG. 4 is a side plan view of the same embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

“Flat”, as used in this application, means shallow in one dimension, orfrom ¼ inch to a few inches in that dimension.

“Long” as referring the length of the apparatus means from about 12 toabout 15 inches in length, or from 13 to 14 inches in length, or 13.25inches in length.

“Resilient ridge” means a longitudinal projection following along theedge or end of the apparatus, extending beyond the rigid portionthereof, and acting as a resilient brush or spatula to extend intocrevices or ridges in the rigid container or paint can. The resilientridge may be made of plastic, rubber, or any synthetic or natural semirigid polymeric compound.

“Resilient projection” in this application means a finger-likeprojection that extends further, but is made of a similar material andmay be entire with, the “resilient ridge” defined above. The resilientprojection extends into deeper ridges or concavities of the paint canrim to reach pools of paint or other flowable viscous material therein.

“Paint can” may mean any rigid container with a fitted lid, usuallycontaining architectural or craft paint, stain, or varnish. “Liquidpaint” as used in this application may mean architectural or craftpaint, stain, or varnish, or flowable bonding resins.

“Flowable viscous material” may be paint, stain, varnish, honey, glue,syrup, puddings, fats such as lard, margarine, butter or shortening,mayonnaise, or baking batters.

It is an object of the invention to provide a multi-function apparatusengineered to efficiently clean and claim most or all residual liquidpaint from gallon and quart paint cans, as well as to act as a paint canopener.

Referring to FIG. 1, an apparatus according to a first embodiment of theinvention is shown generally at 10.

The invention as shown in FIGS. 1 through 4 is an apparatus with a rigid(preferably steel) core with a defined shape, furnished along all orsome of its edges with a resilient projecting ridge (20) to afford aclean wipe of the inside vertical wall of a variety of rigid containershapes. In a preferred embodiment, and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, theapparatus is shaped to clean, wipe, and act as a lever for prying openstandard paint can designs.

The apparatus is further provided with a shaped end (30) suitable forcleaning the paint or other flowable viscous material from along thelipped rim of a container or paint can. This end further includes aresilient projection (55) to accommodate different depths and shapes.The apparatus is elongate in overall shape to provide adequate leveragefor the second end of the apparatus to act as paint can lid opener (40).The region of the second end also provides a hook-shaped under-the-rimcleaning contour (50).

The apparatus is further provided with a hang hole for easy storage(60), and an arc contour for brush and roller clean-up and dripreduction (70). These aspects are best shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. A rigidmetal core (80) is preferred because of its durability and strength ascompared to wood or plastic for repeat use both in wiping and levering.The strength required to apply enough force to the edge of the lidcannot be tolerated by wood or plastic when formed in the appropriatesize and shape to fit the geometry of a typical paint can lid. Thestrength of a metallic core also allows the apparatus to be used toclean up a wide range of flowable material weights and viscosities. Inaddition, metal will withstand harsh cleaning chemicals and scrubbing inbetween uses.

The rigid metallic portion of the apparatus may be coated to protect itagainst solvents and chemicals. In a preferred embodiment, a PVC coatingis used.

Operation

As previously touched on, every traditional paint can has a lid thattightly fits and seals the can by means of two interlocking surfaces.The interlocking surface on the can is a rounded “valley” or “trench”,which accepts the corresponding surface of the lid and forms a tightseal with it. The paint that accumulates in this trench, or “rim” can beremoved using the shaped end 30, and the surface cleaned beforereplacing the lid.

The apparatus of the invention has contoured edges (50) and resilientprotruding ridges (20, 55) therealong to fit rims of varying geometriesin order to remove the majority of accumulated paint. Replacing the lidthen results in a tight and effective guard of the remaining paint fromdrying and wastage.

An operator possessing an apparatus according to one aspect of theinvention as shown in FIG. 1 may use it to open a lidded container offlowable viscous material, and as the flowable viscous material is usedup, insert the apparatus into the container and scrape the material fromthe sides and towards the bottom of the container. The hook (50) may bedrawn along the bottom inside edge of the rim of the container, to drawthe flowable material down along the apparatus toward the bottom of thecan. The ridge 20 is flexible and accommodates different subtlegeometries of the inside of the container, and different angles ofapproach. The flowable material gathered at the bottom of the containermay then be used or stored.

The apparatus of the invention may similarly be used to clean avirtually empty container by wiping the material up an out of theopening thereof. This allows the container to be recycled and thematerial to be pooled with other remainders to form a useful volume.

Paint is not the only type of viscous, flowable material with which theapparatus of the invention may be used to advantage. Examples of othercontained materials with which the apparatus may be used to clean up andhelp more completely utilize include paint, plaster, grease, adhesives,and auto body repair compounds such as Bondo™, etc. Further applicationswould apply to the food industry, and include mayonnaise and other saladdressings, puddings, cake fillings, frosting, ice cream, lard, peanutbutter, etc.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been described andillustrated, such embodiments should be considered illustrative of theinvention only and not as limiting the invention as construed inaccordance with the accompanying claims.

1. An apparatus for reducing liquid waste in a container, the apparatuscomprising: an elongate, rigid metallic body having first and secondends and first and second long edges; said first end having projectionsand concavities shaped to mate with the upper rim of a lidded paint can;said second end being substantially flat and formed with a generallyright angle abutment with said first and second long edges; and saidfirst and second ends, and said first and second long edges, furthercomprising a nonmetallic resilient ridge extending therefrom.
 2. Theapparatus of claim 1 wherein said nonmetallic resilient ridge isconfined to the region of the apparatus nearest said second end.
 3. Theapparatus of claim 1 wherein said nonmetallic resilient ridge extendsfrom at least one of said first and second long edges.
 4. The apparatusof claim 1 wherein said nonmetallic resilient ridge extends from atleast one of said first and second ends.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1further comprising, at said first end, a nonmental resilient projection.6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said first long edge furthercomprises a metallic hook-shaped projection shaped to extend under theinner rim of a container when said first long edge is brought intocontact with the inside vertical wall of said container.
 7. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein said rigid, metallic body is comprised ofsteel.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a protectivecoating over said metallic body.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinsaid liquid is paint.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein saidcontainer is a paint can.
 11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein saidsecond long edge further comprises a concavity shaped to correspond tothe exterior arc of the outside of a standard paint can, for use inremoving liquid from the outside of said paint can, or a brush orroller, when said apparatus is moved along said brush or roller oroutside of said paint can.